TACOMA, Wash.-- The Pacific Lutheran University women's basketball team produced a gritty effort on Saturday evening against Northwest Conference leading Pacific University. The Lutes were even with the visiting Boxers into the fourth quarter before running out of gas, falling 59-44 inside Olson Gymnasium.

"I'm really proud of the way we bounced back tonight and played well against a really good team," said Head Coach Lee Aduddell.

"We know when we are at our best we can compete with the top teams in the league."

Ava Edmonds drained a three with 9:19 remaining in the game, tying the contest at 36. PLU (9-6, 1-5 NWC) had a chance to take the lead on the next two possessions, getting blocks from Edmonds and Ashley Akamine but was unable to capitalize. Pacific (9-5, 5-1 NWC) retook the lead on a layup with 8:12 remaining and would play with the lead the rest of the night, slowly inching away from the homestanding Lutes.

It was still a one possession game with 5:26 left before the Boxers scored nine of the next 11 to push their lead to double digits with 3:32 remaining and kept PLu at arm's length the rest of the way.

A Stacie Spahr layup put the Lutes up 7-4 with 4:32 left in the opening quarter but PLU misfired on its final six shots of the quarter as Pacific enjoyed a 10-7 edge after 10 minutes of play. The Boxers extended its lead in the second, taking a 24-16 edge into the halftime intermission.

PLU trailed by eight midway through the third but scored the next seven, including a Taylor Schmidtke layup with 22 ticks left to pull within a single point.

Raylie Wardenaar led the Lutes with 16 points, finishing four-for-eight from beyond the arc. Edmonds added 10 points and eight rebounds while Akamine had nine points and eight boards. Brandie Tobin dished out a team-high five assists.

It was a cold shooting night for the Lutes, hitting just 28.8 percent (17-for-59) of its chances while the Boxers had more made free throws (10) than the Lutes had attempts (four).

Pacific thrived inside, enjoying a 36-16 edge in points in the paint and had a 19-9 edge in points off turnovers.

Saturday capped off an eight game homestand for the Lutes who hit the road next weekend, facing Whitman College on Friday in Walla Walla, Washington. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.